Laminated thread



Dec. 4, 1956 'Filed Oct. 18, 1954 G. H. LACY LAMINATED THREAD 2 ASheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

INVENTOR.

GEORGE H. LACY ATTORNEYS United States Patent() `LAivmvATED THREAD George H. Lacy, Cleveland, Ohio, assgnor to The Dobeckmun Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 18, 1954, Serial No. 462,753 12 Claims. (Cl. 154-53.`6)

, This invention relates to fabric manufacture and to threads to be used in such manufacture. More particularly, the inventionpertains to multicolor threads and fabrics.

This application is a continuation-impart with respect to application Serial No. 400,653 led December 28, 1953, now abandoned. g

An object of the invention is to provide a means of manufacturing fabrics or textiles with predetermined patterns or effects of various types, while employing weaving procedures no more complex than those required to weave conventional solid-color fabrics. Another object of the invention is to provide pattern effects and multicolored textile effects which have heretofore not been attainable or which have been attainable only through the use of very costly procedures and equipment, but which may be inexpensively provided in accordance with the present invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a thread Which'may be employed in the simplest type of conventional weaving operations to provide finish effects which have heretofore been relatively costly and diflicult to produce, many such etectsinvolving the use of costly specialized textile machinery or special procedures. Thus, vthe threads to which the present invention "relates may be employed with the most `simple types of weaving equipment to produce moire effects, boucle effects and shot-through or ilecked effects, gimping effects and others'.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following specification of certain embodiments of the invention, together with the drawings in which:

Figures l and 2 comprise a schematic representation of one method of' producing thread-s according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a view on a scale greatly enlarged from that of Figure 1 showing a thread produced according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a view on an intermediate scale showing a web from which threads are to be formed;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing another thread produced according to the invention;

'Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing another web from which threads are to be formed;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figures 4 and 6 showing still another web from which threads are to be formed.

Thread' contemplated by the invention may comprise laminations of stripsof transparenter semi-transparent material with metal foil or metallic deposits included therein. One material which may be employed is cellulose acetate butyrate, although strips of other cellulosic materials, preferably containing suitable plasticizers, may be used (e. g., cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate).A Other non-cellulosic material may also be employed, as for example, longitudinally and transversely oriented iilms of 'polymerized ethylene glycolv terephthalate.

In accordance with the present invention, thread is preferably formed by providing sheets of the material from which the thread is to be made, printing such sheets with transversely extending bands of color or patterns, preferably having sharply defined boundaries, and slitting the sheets lengthwise to provide a number of individual threads. Several sheets may be combined or laminated together prior to slitting in order to provide threads having several thicknesses, and color or pattern applied to one lor all of said sheets is preferably included within such lamination rather than being exposed on one or both of the outer surfaces of the lamination. Sheeted material may be combined with metal foil, such as aluminum foil, or may receive a metal vapor deposit `(as disclosed in copending application of Karl E. Prindle and George Lacy, Serial No. 267,108, led January 18, 1952, now Patent No. 2,714,569) in order to provide threads having a metallic appearance, printing of the patterns or bands of color occurring either before or after or both before and after the foil combining or metal depositing operation. The film of metal foil or the deposited metal film may itself be printed, if desired. l(As used in this specification and in the appended claims, the term lm is understood to include foil or metal vapor deposits or other metal layers.) Numerous transparent adhesives which are suitable for the lamination of webs of the various materials from which the thread contemplated by the invention may be formed will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such adhesives may be adapted to pigmentation -so that the adhesives themselves may exhibit acolor, if desired. Thus, the pigmented adhesives specified in the above-mentioned applicaton, Serial No. 267,108, may be employed, if desired. Obviously, the same adhesive formulations as set forth in such application, minus the pigments set forth` therein, may be employed if a colorless adhesive is desired. By Way of example, the following formulations for` suitable transparent adhesives are given or are again set forth as follows on the basis of pound lots:

Example 1 Pounds Coconut oil alkyd resin 16.4 R. S.-1/2 sec. nitrocellulose 9.7 Textile spirits g 30.6 Isopropyl acetate 34.2 Tricresyl phosphate 9.1

Example 2 Pounds Polyvinyl acetate resin 20.4 Tricresyl phosphate 10.2 Toluol 40.7 Isopropyl acetate 28.7

`Example 3 Pounds Acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer 7.5 Vinyl acetate-chloride copolymer 1.5 Aryl sulfonamide-formaldehyde resin 8 .0 Toluol 60.0 Methylethyl ketone 23.0

from the feed roll v16-isv laminatedbetween the .webs10 Patented Dec. 4, 1956 ffshot-through or flecked effect.

and 11 by the laminating rolls 17. The webs 10 and 11 are Aprinted with a striped pattern'by the printing rolls 14. The patterns on both webs are preferably registered with each other by positioning the webs so that the patterns on the respective webs directly overlie each other in the bight between the laminating rolls. The pattern may comprise unprinted or clear stripes 18 which, in the laminated form, reveal the metallic surface of the foil 15. The colored portions 19 may be opaque or partially transparent or translucent, depending on the particular ink or color employed and may partially or totaily obscure the metallic surface of the foil 15. The lamination may be taken up on the roll 22. As shown in Figure 2, the laminated web is then slit into numerous threads 20 by suitable means such as the knives 21, `the threads preferably being taken up on spools (not shown). If desired, the slitting may be performed in two stagesthe laminated web being first slit into relatively broad bands which are taken up on rolls, each of which is then fed through a bank of knives similar to the knives 21 schematically illustrated in Figure 2. In such a procedure, the cutting knives need only extend across the width of a band rather than the width of the entire web. A thread produced as described above is illustrated in Figure 3. The thread presents clearly delineated areas of vdifferent colors which may be sharply contrasted. The

thread may then be employed in woven patterns, either as a warp or filler, and may be woven twisted or flat. Particularly when twisted and employed on a background of ,fairly solid color, the thread has the appearance and rich effect of gimping, the intermittently visible metal appearing to be interlaced as part of a gimped strip or design.

It will be apparent that the web from which the threads are out may be printed in two or three or more different colors and that each color may be printed so that it extends a short distance or a considerable distance along the resulting threads. The metal foil or vapor deposit may be covered with a transparent ink which may have a metallic color, or a colored adhesive may be employed to adhere the laminants in order to give the metallic foil any metallic color desired. For example, the aluminumfoil which has a silver appearance may be given the appearance of gold by using a suitable yellow ink or laminant adhesive (as disclosed inthe above mentioned application, Serial No. 267,108).

Accordingly, threads produced by the invention may have multicolored stripes or patterns of any desired conformation and arrangement; the colors may be metallic or non-metallic. The stripe or pattern may be consistent for a given thread production, or it may be varied as set forth below.

. One effect which is frequently desired in fabrics, particularly when metallic colors are employed, is a random In this connection, a .patterned lamination such as thatillustrated in Figure 4 may be' provided according to theprocedures described above. Here the metal foil is exposed at relatively narrow .clear areas or stripes 23 which are irregularly spaced in a field of solid color 24. Threads slit from this pattern will have an appearance similar to the thread illustrated in Figure 5. The solid color 24 is chosen to match or approximate the background color of the fabric in which .the thread is to be employed. The finished fabric will exhibit what appear to be arbitrarilyspaced metallic llecks in a solid background.

' If the flecked effect is to be relatively dense or intense, it may be desirable to provide threads having patterns which vary from thread to thread in order to avoid any regularity in the final pattern. In Figure 6, a lamination is illustrated similar to that shown in Figure 4, except that the clear stripes 25 are non-parallel. 'It will be apparent that each of the threads cut from the web illustratedin-Fligure 6 will have apattern rdifferent from the "other threads outfrom'thesame web. Evenina dense 4 pattern of such threads, no regularity or striation will occur.

It is not necessary for the printing on the web to be in the form of stripes or bars, as in the preceding examples. The pattern may be in the form of any type of design, as the box design on the web 27 shown in Figure 7. And, while the pre-printing of webs from which threads are to be formed has been described above in connection with what may be termed heavy or massive designs or patterns, it will be apparent that fine dotted or lined patterns may be employed in pre-printing the thread. For example, Benday type prints may be employed on the unslit web to provide an apparent gradual shading from one color to another along the length of the threads.

It is to be observed that the pre-printed threads to which this invention relates may be employed as a warp or ller or both.

The many possible alternatives in the invention which are described above will make it apparent that the scope of the invention is not limited to the details of yspecifically illustrated embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A thread comprising a metal film interposed between laminated long narrow strips of transparent thermoplastic,l and at least one printed color deposit of a given color intermittently overlying said metal film along the length of said long narrow strips, said at least one color deposit being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

2. A thread comprising an aluminum film interposed between laminated long narrow strips'of'cellulose acetate butyrate, and at least one printed color deposit of a given color intermittently overlying said aluminum film along the length of said long narrow strips, said at least one color deposit being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

3. A thread comprising an aluminum filmvinterposed Y between laminated long narrow'strips of transparent nonfibrous cellulosic material, and at least one printed color deposit of a given color intermittently overlying said aluminum `film along the length of said long narrow-strips, said at least one color deposit being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

4. A thread comprising an aluminum film interposed between laminated long narrow strips of polymer-ized ethylene glycol terephthalate, and at least one printed color deposit of a given vcolor intermittently overlying said aluminum film along the length of said long narrow strips. said at least one color deposit being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

5. A thread comprising a metal film interposed-between a pair of laminated long narrow strips of trans-y parent thermoplastic, at least one printed color deposit of a given color on the inner side of atleast one of said strips and covered by said'thermoplastic and intermittently overlying said metal film along thelength of said lona narrow strips.

6. A thread comprising .a metal film interposed between a pair of laminatedlona narrow strips, of transparent thermoplastic, at least one printed color deposit of argiven color on the inner side of each of said strips and covered'by said thermoplastic and intermittently overlying said metal film along the length of said llong narrow strips.

7. A thread comprisingfa -metalfilm includedwithin a lamination of at leastvtwo long narrow strips of transparent thermoplastic, at least one printed colordeposit -of a given color intermittently overlying veach side of said'metal'film-along thelength ofsaidlong narrow strips, said -at least kone color deposit on each side of said metal being covered'by at least one ofsaid narrow strips.

8. A thread comprising ametal film included' within a laminationof at least two long -narrowstrips toftrans- Vparent thermoplastic, =a fplurality of;printed ,color deposits of given colors intermittently overlying said metalvxjpfilrn A fffmm, n

along the length of said long narrow strips, said color deposits being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

9. A thread comprising a metal lm included within a lamination of at least two long narrow strips of transparent thermoplastic, a colo1 deposit of a given color Vintermittently overlying each side of said metal film along the length of said long narrow strips, said color deposit on each side of said metal lm being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

10. A thread comprising a metal lm included within a lamination of at least two long narrow strips of transparent thermoplastic, a plurality of printed color deposits of given colors intermittently overlying one side of said metal film along the length of said long narrow strips, and a plurality of printed color deposits of given col-ors intermittently overlying the other side of said metal lm along the length of said long narrow strips, each of said color deposits being covered by at least one of said p long narrow strips.

1l. A thread comprising a metal lilm included within a lamination of at least two long narrow strips of transparent thermoplastic, and at least one printed color deleast one color deposit being covered by at least one of said narrow strips.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,651,649 Waite Dec. 6, 1927 1,913,397 Knecht June 13, 1933 2,118,847 Katz May 31, 1938 2,129,504 Prndle Sept. 6, 1938 2,482,981 Kamrass Sept. 27, 1949 2,569,764 Jonas Oct. 2, 1951 2,607,185 Silverman Aug. 19, 1952 2,714,569 Prndle et al Aug. 2, 1955 

1. A THREAD COMPRISING A METAL FILM INTERPOSED BETWEEN LAMINATED LONG NARROW STRIPS OF TRANSPARENT THERMOPLASTIC, AND AT LEAST ONE PRINTED COLOR DEPOSIT OF A GIVEN COLOR INTERMITTENTLY OVERLYING SAID METAL FILM ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID LONG NARROW STRIPS, SAID AT LEAST ONE COLOR DEPOSIT BEING COVERED BY AT LEAST ONE OF SAID NARROW STRIPS. 